News & Articles
The Long Ball
In an article I recently read, Michael Jordan makes an observation about basketball in the modern era that caught my attention. Despite his own proficiency, Jordan suggested that the three-point shot has had a negative effect on the game. People my age can remember basketball before the three-point shot was created. When all shots counted…
Friends Make Us Strong
During the Cold War, we referred to Eastern European nations under Moscow’s control as the Soviet Bloc. The term “bloc” suggests frozenness—a perfect description of life in those sad countries. Those countries weren’t part of the bloc by choice; they were controlled and dominated by the Kremlin. I will never forget my own brief encounter…
Legacies Of Service To Others
It seems fitting that two men whom I admire passed away so close together last week. One was one hundred years old; the other was just short of his ninety-fifth birthday. It wasn’t their age that made them special—it was the way they lived. A few decades ago, a popular term in leadership studies was…
Cherished Traditions
The winter holidays including New Year celebrations are days steeped in traditions, traditions that hold together memories of the past and hopes for the future. It isn’t really Christmas for my wife until she makes the traditional Swedish Christmas cookies that her grandmothers and their grandmothers made. Part of my wife’s joy is anticipating the…
Does Everyone Pray?
Whether you pray often or not at all, your first response to the question, “Does Everyone Pray?” might be “no.” If we think of prayer as thinking or saying certain words to a Divine Being, I would agree that not everyone offers that kind of prayer. But there are two dimensions to prayer, with our…
A Baby Is Born With A Note Attached
Americans like their religious leaders to be non-controversial and non-confrontational. When they upset us, we feel a foul has been committed, a kind of “roughing the believer” infraction. This is especially true in sacred holiday seasons, when we’d rather see children dressed as shepherds and singing about peace on earth than hear our religious leaders…